Gaming table smoke control systems and processes

ABSTRACT

Smoke control systems and processes for controlling tobacco smoke, in association with a gaming table in which the smoke control system does not interfere with the gaming and allows the table to be used for both smoking and non-smoking applications.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/850,793, filed Oct. 12, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to smoke control systems and processes. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to smoke control systems andprocesses for controlling tobacco smoke in the ambient air near a gamingtable.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), which is also commonly referred to assecond hand smoke, is smoke from the use of tobacco products such ascigarettes, cigars and pipes. Since use of cigarettes is more widespreadthan cigars or pipes, for convenience the term cigarettes will be usedherein to refer all of these tobacco products. ETS is composed of morethan 3800 different chemical compounds and is of considerable health andsocial responsibility concern. ETS is comprised of both particulates andgas-phase contaminants. The particulate contaminants in ETS are, insignificant part, very small solids and liquid substances (e.g., tars)that are light enough to be entrained in the air and are ofrespirable-size which have a higher probability of penetrating deep intohuman lungs. In addition to size considerations, the particulates arecomposed of diverse organic and inorganic material. The gas-phasecontaminants in ETS include a wide array of combustion gases and otherorganic chemicals, which pose additional complexity and concerns.Optimal removal of tobacco smoke from ambient air requires the removalof both particulates and gas-phase contaminants. Enclosed areas wherelarge numbers of people gather such as restaurants, offices, waitingrooms and auditoriums, often contain sizable filtration and/orventilation systems to remove ETS and other contaminants from theambient air. Many such establishments place their filtering systems in aremote region of a room where contaminated air tends to accumulate.These systems usually draw the contaminated air from the room and filterthe air or vent it through an outlet while replacing it with filteredair or with fresh air from outside the room. Large air filtration and/orventilation systems have found wide spread use in an effort tosignificantly reducing the concentration of noxious substances in asizable region, in conjunction with general heating and coolingequipment. However, because these large systems must usually be placedat a remote location away from the usual sources of the contamination,e.g., near the ceiling at the center or a corner of a room, they oftendo not keep the ambient air sufficiently free of noxious substances,particularly in areas wherein the contaminants are introduced.

Relatively small air filtration units, which purify air close to acontamination source, may be useful by individuals in minimizing theirexposure to noxious substances at some specific locations. Althoughsmall air filtration units have served some limited purposes, they donot provide entirely satisfactory service for a number of technicaland/or practical reasons. Such air filtration units often do not havesufficient contaminant removal capacity, are noisy, consume significantpower, are difficult to inspect and service, are not designed for easeof use and/or do not efficiently remove the contaminants at the source.Additionally, there are practical implementation obstacles resultingfrom the lack of acceptance and/or individuals' failure to utilize,maintain or activate them.

ETS is a particularly important issue in the gaming industry, since thegreat popularity of gaming tables and gaming machines have resulted invery large number of these gaming tables and machines being used incasinos, often with a large number of them being cofigured in very closeproximity. In casino applications, due to the large number of users whosmoke tobacco during use, a large amount of ETS is produced fromnumerous diverse points of emission. The gaming environment is designedto be comfortable for the user, with various components of environmentalquality (including temperature, air quality, noise level, etc.) eachbeing important (e.g.; extensive filtration of the air may beneficiallyreduce the level of contaminants in the air but may be unacceptable froma noise level or air movement standpoint).

ETS is important from a health, comfort and regulatory perspective inview of the impact upon persons using gaming tables, but it is also asignificant concern to the housing keeping of the casino and function ofthe equipment in the casino. For example, most modern gaming machinescontain electronic components which requires cooling thereof and this iscommonly accomplish by providing for the passage of ambient air throughthe interior of the machines (e.g.; by an internal fan and associatedvents in the exterior of the machine which allows for ambient air toflow in the interior regions for which cooling is desired). However, thepresence of ETS in the introduced ambient air can harm the electroniccomponents and require extra maintenance.

Though some prior attempts to deal with the foregoing problems appearedto be technically possible and/or may appear to been suitable, the knowntechnologies and systems used do not provide for removal of tobaccosmoke from ambient air in gaming table applications in a practical andefficient manner in view of the spatial constraints on the surface ofthe table to avoid interference with the cards, chips etc., powerconsiderations, noise constraints and maintenance considerations.Further because of the expense and varying individual design of gamingtables, casinos would be adverse to buying specially constructed newtables. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,279 seeks to address smokeissues affecting the casino table operator, by providing an air barrieraround the operator. But that approach would replace existing casinogaming tables and would involve placement of fixed inlets vents alongthe outer periphery of the table top near the table rail in positionswhich would both interfere with the gaming play (i.e.; the outerperiphery of the table top is where players would place their cars andchips) and would not effectively recapture smoke from the smokingplayers' ashtrays or exhalation (because of the vents' positions and thefact that the vents are flat and flush mounted to the table surface.Further, the prior use of centralized air filter assembly for themultiple vents can give rise to noise and maintenance problems, as wellas size constraints (e.g.; the centralized air filter assembly andassociated ducting made them unsuitable to be retrofitted to existingtables. Even assuming that the technical challenges of prior approacheswere met, equally important consumer acceptance considerations and easeof use challenges exist, particularly by smokers who may have lesserconcerns about ETS or their actions in contributing to ETS, and would beless likely to utilize available means, if the devices interfered withor even appeared to interfere with, the play on the gaming table or werenot easily retrofittable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides systems for controlling tobacco smoke inassociation with a gaming table for playing card games, by exhaustingcontaminated air from the ambient air in front of said gaming tablewhich is typically occupied by a user of the gaming table and an ashtray for lighted cigarettes, comprising a multiplicity of smokecollection devices positioned on the playing surface of the gaming tablein close proximity to regions of where players who are smoking and theirashtrays would be positioned, yet sufficiently separated from the regionin which the player would have the items used in playing so as to not tounduly interfere with the card game, said smoke collection devices eachcomprising (1) an exhaust fan having filtering means, (2) a retractableinflow vent positionable in either an active/open, outwardly-directedposition (toward the smoker) when a smoker is using the table or aninactive/closed position when no such smoker is present and (3) anoutflow zone through which air filtered through said filtering means ispassed.

The present invention also provides methods of controlling tobacco smokein association with a gaming table for playing card games, comprising(1) exhausting contaminated air through an upwardly and outwardlydirected movable vent from the ambient air in the regions which aretypically occupied by a user of the gaming table and an ash tray forlighted cigarettes regions of the playing surface of the gaming tablewhere players who are smoking and their ashtrays would be positioned,yet sufficiently separated from the region in which the player wouldhave the items used in playing so as to not to unduly interfere with thecard game, (2) filtering said exhausted air and (3) discharging saidfiltered air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gaming table with a smoke controlsystem of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a smoke removal system embodiment of thepresent invention showing an intake vent; exhaust fan and their housing.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a smoke removal system embodiment of thepresent invention showing the retractable inflow vent in its closedposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The smoke control systems and processes for controlling tobacco smoke ofthe present invention are useful with all types of gaming tables and areeasily retrofitted to existing tables. The multiplicity of individualsmoke collection devices each take minimal space beneath the playingsurface and operate in an efficient manner which does not interfere withthe gaming

Gaming tables, including poker and blackjack tables, which are the mostcommon form, exist in various forms. In using a gaming table, a usertypically risks a sum of money or something else of value (typicallyrepresented by “chips”, on the outcome of the game in the hope ofwinning). Often these gaming tables are used by high-stakes players andothers, who are adverse to any distractions, including those interferingwith the placement of the cards, chips etc. which they are using.

The smoke control systems of the present invention are used inassociation with gaming tables. The term association as used hereinmeans that the smoke control system and the gaming tables arestructurally incorporated by having the smoke control system beingintegrally incorporated into the table top of gaming table on new orexisting tables by retrofitting them. Each smoke control device ispreferably electrically operated by the dealer/operator of gaming table(e.g.; an electrical control connection from the dealer/operator toactivate the smoke control including raising the retractable inflow ventand activating the exhaust fan when the gaming table is in use by asmoker). The inflow is retractable by any of a variety of means. Forexample, the vent housing may be structured to be pivotably connected tothe overall assembly, thereby allowing the vent to be moved from aclosed position (within the gaming table surface) to an open position,which extends upwardly from the gaming table surface and outwardlyfacing toward the smoker and ashtray position. Each smoke control deviceis preferably appropriately spatially positioned on the surface of thegaming table in such close proximity to the region in which smoke isproduced by a smoker using the gaming table that such smoke can beeffectively drawn into the smoke control system.

The exhaust fans used in accordance with this invention should be ofsufficient capacity to exhaust the smoke contaminated air from theregion immediately adjacent to the front of the gaming table (i.e.; theregion in which a lighted cigarette would be placed and the area inwhich the user of the table who would be smoking would sit or stand),yet not create either an amount of draw of air or exhaust of air of suchvelocity and volume as to undesirably impact the user (e.g.; ideally theuser would not feel or hear the exhaust fan's operation). Mosttypically, the exhaust fans are driven by an electrical motor using thesame power supply as gaming machines use. Examples of suitable fansinclude (1) an axial cooling fan, Model No. 4715FS-12-B50, 115 v, 17watts, 205 amps, 3300 rpm, 56 dBA, 110 cfm made and (2) 4100 N SeriesTubeaxial fan, each made by EBM-PAPST, Inc. which have various modelswith dBA rating between 44 and 65 and cfm capacities of between 94 and180). Other exhaust fan suitable for this purpose will be apparent tothose skilled in the art.

In the selection of optimal fans in the practice of the presentinvention, the distance from the intake to the fan to the region inwhich smoke from the contaminant sources is important. For example, whena lighted cigarette in an ashtray is placed approximately 3-4 inches orless from the intake of an EBM-PAPST, Inc. Model 4114HN3 fan rated as160 cfm, essentially the entire visible plume of smoke from thecigarette is seen flowing in a straight path toward the fan intake. Asthe ash tray/lighted cigarette is moved to 6 inches away from the fan,the plume is seen to rise and form an arc-like somewhat diffuse streamtoward the fan's intake, with the stream containing the vast majority ofthe smoke from the cigarette. As the ash tray/lighted cigarette is movedto about 8 inches from the fan, the plume is seen to rise vertically anddiffuse in the surrounding air, with the fan seemingly having little ornor impact in capturing portions of the plume. When an otherwise similarfan, but with a 180 cfm capacity, is used, smoke can effectively becaptured from a lighted cigarette approximately 8 inches from the fan.

A variety of means may also be preferably employed to automaticallyactuate an exhaust fan functionally associated with the gaming tablewhen said table is in use by a smoker [including actuating the systemupon the initiation of use and the cessation of operation of the systemupon termination of use or at a predetermined time (e.g.; 5 minutes)thereafter]. For example, the exhaust fan can be electrically activatingin response to the initiation of use of the gaming table by a player(e.g.; in response to the being seated at the table). Additionalexamples include (i) a sensing means (e.g.; an electric eye or motiondetector) may be used detecting the presence of a potential player at apredetermined position near the gaming table and (ii) a smoke detectorwhich would detect when the level of smoke in the area in front of thegaming table exceeded a predetermined concentration (e.g.; above“normal” background levels, to indicate that there a smoking user of thegaming table). Such automated devices can provide that when a userapproaches the table, the user's presence or smoke, which the usergenerates, is detected and the fan is activated (via an electricallyactivated switch). When the user ceases to be present, the fan is shutdown either immediately or after a predetermined period of time afterthe presence of the user is no longer detected.

Filters suitable for use in the present invention should be selected toassure that the appropriate level of contaminant removal is achieved ina practical and efficient manner in view of the spatial constraints andconsumer acceptance consideration. Air cleaners (which as the termcommonly used when the principle function of the device is particulateremoval) are usually classified by the method employed to remove theparticulate, namely: mechanical filters, electronic air cleaners, iongenerators and/or “hybrid” combinations utilizing one or more of thesemethods. For example, mechanical filters are typically filters whichconsist of a low packing density coarse glass fibers, vegetable fibersetc., often coated with a viscous substance to act as an adhesive forparticulate material or flat filters made of “electret” media consistingof permanently charged plastic film or fiber. Electronic air cleaners(often called electrostatic precipitators or charged media-mediafilters) use an electric field to trap charged particles. Ion generatorsalso use static charge to remove particles by adding charge to theparticles.

The performance of air cleaners in removing particulates depends on anumber of factors including the (1) volume of air flow through cleaner,(2) the efficiency of the particulate capture mechanism, (3) thedegradation rate of the capture efficiency caused by loading, (4) themass of particles entering the device, (5) the characteristics of theparticles (e.g.; size and whether they are liquid or solid), and (6) theamount of entering air which by-passes the capture mechanism. There arevarious methods to measure performance, such as the weight arrestancetest described in ASHRAE Standard 52-76, Military Standard 2823, etc.

Removal devices for gaseous pollutants typically rely on solid sorbents(e.g.; activated carbon). The performance of solid sorbents depends on anumber of factors including the air flow rate through the sorbent, theconcentration of pollutants, the presence of other gases or vapors(e.g.; humidity), the physical and chemical characteristics of both thepollutants and the sorbent (e.g.; weight, polarity, size, shape), theconfiguration of the sorbent in the device, the quantity of sorbent usedand the sorbent bed depth and the amount of entering air which bypassesthe capture mechanism. Filters may also be used to provide a scent tothe filtered air, (e.g.; by coating the filter with a material such asellagic acid, which neutralizes and/or dissolves some of the odorouscontaminants.

Filtration media particularly usable in the present invention are mediatreated with materials that captures and/or kills airborne bacteria andviruses entrained in the air being filtered. Such media include filterscoated with materials with antimicrobial properties which remain activefor reasonable time periods. These “sanitizer-treated” surfacesneutralize most bacteria, viruses, fungi, algae and yeast on contact.

In the consideration of seemingly suitable filters for use in a gamingenvironment, no single existing device or media was found to besufficient to efficiently achieve the desired cleansing of the air yetsatisfy the above constraints and other considerations. Instead, it wasdetermined that a unique filtration approach and positioning, inconjunction with the other aspects of the present invention wasrequired.

In accordance with the present invention, most of the abovefiltration-related constraints could be met and other considerationssatisfied if the filter used in the smoke removal system of the presentinvention is a composite filter including both an electrostaticallycharged filter (e.g.; an Electrostat® filter media as commerciallyprovided by Ahlstrom) and a fibrous filter. In one preferred embodimentof this invention, a multiple layer filter would be used furthercomprising the following materials:

(1) a 150 g/m2 permanent electrostatically charged filter media as aprefilter with a 0.1 NaCl efficiency of > 95% at 32 LPM a delta P <0.6mm and an air perm > 200 CFM, and

(2) a carbon filter with high gaseous adsorbent capacity with acomposition of activated carbon, synthetic fibers, cellulose and abinder with a mass of 0.5 μm and an air perm of 2400 L/m2/s at 200 kPa,and

(3) a 250 g/m2 polishing filter of permanently electrostatically chargedmedia with a 0.1 NaCl efficiency of > 99% at 32 LPM, a delta P <1.2 mmand an air perm> 100 CFM.

Most preferably, one or both of the electrostatic filters would also becoated with a biocide (e.g.; as supplied by Medasil Ltd., Hunslet RoadLeeds, England and as used in its Virolklenz Medairsan systems).

To assure proper maintenance of the exhaust fan and filter replacement,the design of the system preferably should enable ease of maintenance,for example, including detection means (e.g.; a pressure dropmeasurement means to detect excessive buildup of deposits on the filteror filters) and appropriate design of the exhaust fan housing and filtercompartment to allow easy assess for filter inspection, cleaning and/orreplacement (e.g.; as depicted in the figures, discussed hereinafter).

The environment in which the device is or must be located posesadditional challenges and constraints. In the areas surrounding a gamingtable or gambling machine, the challenges of effectively dealing withETS are particularly daunting due to the multiple and changing sourcesof the smoke (e.g.; as patrons come and go from a given table ormachine), constraints in the permissible size of any ETS capture device,where the device needs to be located, the permissible or desireddirection of exhaust streams, acceptable noise generation, acceptablepower consumption, aesthetics, cost considerations, etc.

Although the filtration means as previously described is an importantfeature of the present invention, the positioning of the intake offiltration device [with respect to the region in which the user of thegaming table would likely be present and the region in which the lightedcigarette would be placed (e.g.; a ash tray) when the user is notdrawing smoke from the cigarette] is of equal if not of greaterimportance. It has been estimated that about 80% of the contaminated airfrom cigarette smoking in a gaming casino environment comes directlyfrom the burning cigarette and the remaining 20% comes principally fromthe smoker's exhaled air. Accordingly, it is an important to capturecontaminated smoke both directly from the burning cigarette and the airexhaled by the smoker. The present invention addresses this by assuringthat the air intake of the system is sufficiently positioned on thegaming table taken to focus on the region that a smoker using the gamingtable and his/her cigarette would be.

The ambient contaminated air after being passing through the filteringmeans of the present invention has reduced contaminant levels comparedto the contaminant levels in the intake flow, with the amount ofreduction being determined by the incoming contaminant levels, thefiltration media employed, flow rates and other factors. The presentinvention provides for a variety of uses or outputs for the filteredair. Depending on the application and the preferences of the operator ofthe venue in which the units are installed, the output air can bedirected (1) back toward the smoker (providing cleaner air than thatwhich might otherwise be surrounding the smoker) or (2) away from thesmoker into the general room environment (providing a lower contaminantloading into general room environment than that which would result fromun-captured smoke from burning cigarettes and smokers' exhalation). Forexample, if operator of the gaming venue was principally focused onreducing the exposure of a patron smoker using the gaming table and hadconcerns that the quality of the filtered air was still not low enough(e.g.; in the absence of a established safe or de minimus level), theoutput flow could be directed away from the smoker, instead of towardthe smoker. If air of the highest available degree of filtration isdesired, additional air filtration devices of the same type as used tocapture smoke laden air can be incorporated at other location associatedwith the gaming table. For example, one of more of these air filtrationdevices can draw air from a relatively smoke free zone (e.g.; the areanear the dealer who would not normally be smoking) to both filter theair and assist in localized air circulation. Alternatively oradditionally, the devices could be used to draw air from a relativelysmoke free zone, and provide a flow of further filtered air toward thedealer.

Several preferred example of the smoke removal systems of the presentinvention are shown in FIGS. 1-3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the smoke control system of the present invention inthis embodiment is part of a card gaming table 2 which has six separatesmoke collection devices 4-14, four of which (numbered 4, 6, 12 and 14)are shown in the active/open position in close proximity to the playerswho are smoking and the two of which (numbered 8 and 10) are shown inthe inactive/closed position. The devices are each positioned facing theareas 16 of the table where ashtrays would be placed and in back of thearea in which the cards were be dealt. Each of the smoke collectiondevices are separately functional [i.e.; each is capable of drawing inthe inflow air, filtering it and discharging it to one or more outflowzones 18 (which are underneath the table in this embodiment so as tovent the filtered air beneath the table) by conventional ducting notshown]. An exhaust fan in a fan housing (shown in FIG. 2 below) ispositioned beneath a retractable inflow vent in a housing. Electricalmeans (not shown) allow each vent to be independently opened or closedand the fan to be actuated (e.g.; as controlled by the dealer).

FIG. 2 shows one smoke collection device of the present invention isshown in the active/open position. The retractable inflow vent 22 whenopen extends at an angle (e.g.; about 41° above the table surface). Thevent is positioned on the gaming table sufficiently close to the regionin which a smoking player would place his/her ashtray and be situated(so as to effectively collect the smoke from the burning cigarette inthe ashtray and exhaled smoke), yet sufficiently distant from the regionin which the player would have chips and cards (so as to not to undulyinterfere with the card game and the items used in playing). The fan 24has sufficient capacity to draw essentially all of the smoke from alighted cigarette in an ashtray (not shown) in a region of the gamingtable where the ashtray is normally placed so as to have the smoke todirectly flow into the inflow vent. One or more filters 22, 24 and 26(which are preferably removable filters) are positioned in the region ofair flow between the inflow vent and outflow vent 28 which is preferablydirected away from a user of the gaming table, such as have the outletvent under the gaming table or ducted to another location.

FIG. 3 shows one smoke collection device 30 of the present invention isshown in the inactive/closed position. In this position the deviceinterfere at all with the card game and the items used in playing (so asto allow for completely unobstructed play by a non-smoking player aswell as to allow the table to be used as a non-smoking table by havingall of the smoke collection devices at that table be in theirinactive/closed positions.

Obviously many other modifications, variations and applications of thepresent invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. Itis to be understood, therefore, that within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed.

1. A system for controlling tobacco smoke in association with a gamingtable for playing card games, by exhausting contaminated air from theambient air in front of said gaming table which is typically occupied bya user of the gaming table and an ash tray for lighted cigarettes,comprising a multiplicity of smoke collection devices positioned on theplaying surface of the gaming table in close proximity to regions ofwhere players who are smoking and their ashtrays would be positioned,yet sufficiently separated from the region in which the player wouldhave the items used in playing so as to not to unduly interfere with thecard game, said smoke collection devices each comprising (1) an exhaustfan having filtering means, (2) a retractable inflow vent positionablein either an active/open, outwardly-directed position when a smoker isusing the table or an inactive/closed position when no such smoker ispresent and (3) an outflow zone through which air filtered through saidfiltering means is passed.
 2. The system of claim 1 comprising three ormore of said smoke collection devices.
 3. The system of claim 1 whereinthe said one or more smoke collection devices are retrofitted to anexisting gaming table.
 4. The system of claim 1 comprising said smokecollection devices at each position at the gaming table at which playersare to be situated.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein said filteringmeans is a multi-layer filter including at least one electrostaticfilter within the exhaust fan and at least one fibrous filter.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1 further comprising means for opening and closing saidretractable inflow vent and activating exhaust fan dependent uponwhether or not a smoker is using said gaming table.
 7. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the said retractable vent is positioned when in its openposition at an angle of about 41° from the table surface
 8. A method forcontrolling tobacco smoke in association with a gaming table for playingcard games, comprising (1) exhausting contaminated air through anupwardly and outwardly directed retractable vent from the ambient air inthe multiplicity of regions which are typically occupied by the users ofthe gaming table and an ash tray for lighted cigarettes regions of theplaying surface of the gaming table where players who are smoking andtheir ashtrays would be positioned, yet sufficiently separated from theregion in which the player would have the items used in playing so as tonot to unduly interfere with the card game, (2) separately filteringsaid exhausted air from each said retractable vent and (3) dischargingsaid filtered air.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said dischargingsaid filtered directs flow of filtered air away from the said user. 10.The method of claim 8 wherein said exhausting contaminated air isappropriately spatially positioned in such close proximity to saidplayer and said ash tray placement region so that smoke from the regionin which smoke is produced by a smoker using said gaming player can beeffectively exhausted.
 11. The method of claim 8 further comprisingclosing said retractable vent when no smoking is occurring at the gamingtable or a portion thereof.
 12. The method of claim 8 further comprisingopening and closing said retractable vent by electrical means.